Yesaya 2:19

2:19 They ¹  will go into caves in the rocky cliffs

and into holes in the ground, ² 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ³ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ⁴ 

Yesaya 26:5

26:5 Indeed, ⁵  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ⁶ 

he throws it down to the dust.

Yesaya 26:19

26:19 ⁷ Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ⁸ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ⁹ 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 40:12

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ¹¹  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ¹²  measured the sky, ¹³ 

or carefully weighed ¹⁴  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹⁶ 

Who ¹⁷  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁸ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹⁹ 

and enables him to subdue ²⁰  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ²¹ 

[2:19]  ¹ tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.

[2:19]  ² tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.

[26:5]  ⁵ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[26:19]  ⁷ sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ¹⁰ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[40:12]  ¹¹ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ¹² tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ¹³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ¹⁵ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[41:2]  ¹⁶ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ¹⁷ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ²⁰ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ²¹ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.